ELIZABETH LANGE Ph.D.

The fireweed, widespread across what is currently called Canada, is a symbol of transformation. This tough but beautiful tall purple blooming plant grows in large communities, densely connected by and spreading through an extensive mass of roots.

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Fireweed grows where the soil and vegetation have been fundamentally disturbed – naturally by forest fire or through human activities like clearcuts. The fireweed is called a pioneer species as it captures the energy in an area and spreads rapidly while creating a nutrient-rich environment for other species. In essence, fireweed starts the process of ecological recovery and creates the foundation for mature, complex ecosystems.

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Similarly, the Fireweed Learning Commons is an intersectoral partnership dedicated to transformation by mobilizing the energy of people curious about a future of deep sustainability, including climate justice and environmental integrity, through transformative education programs. The task of the Fireweed Learning Commons is to shift specific and sometimes harmful ways of being that have fundamentally disturbed natural systems, including social systems, beyond their ability to renew themselves. Through transformative learning, the Fireweed Learning Commons gathers people to co-create relational ways of living that work with, rather than against, natural systems. We gather and help people cultivate a rich connectivity that nurtures the roots of life-giving cultures and healthy ecosystems. 

"Their seeds must fall and press beneath this earth, and find me where I wait. My only need to fertilize their birth." 

From Elegy by Maya Angelou